Gilkey said lack of funding prevented the Dardanelle facility from being sufficiently staffed. The jail was closed March 17 after two men, Seth Chowning and Bret Cooksey, overpowered a jailer while walking back into the jail from the exercise yard. The men then freed Jacqueline Stobaugh and all three prisoners left the jail before being captured eight hours later.

The Yell County Record reports Gilkey has asked the Yell County Quorum Court for authorization to hire two full-time jailers and four part-time guards.

Chowning, Cooksey and Stobaugh are being held on separate $1 million bonds at a Scott County jail in Waldron, according to the Yell County Record. Gilkey's office, which operates jails in both Dardanelle and Danville, contracts with Scott County to detain Yell County prisoners.